"Fat" cat constantly begs for food

karmaghost

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Hey everyone, it's been a while since I posted about my kitten Bailey. After a frustrating few early months, she's finally settled down and we're really enjoying her company.

Bailey is now about 20 months old and she's doing well. But what has me curious is her behavior and appearance. She's an indoor cat and currently weighs about 11 pounds, maybe 12. At this weight she appears to be a little "obese," which is something we notice and something everybody that comes to visit seems to comment on. When we enter the kitchen, unless she has just been fed (and sometimes even regardless of this fact) she will cry and beg for food. If she's really hungry, she engages in attention seeking behavior like running around, scratching furniture, and frustrated meowing.

I'm feeding her a little more than the vet recommended, but much less than the packaging on her food recommends. Other than, say, worms, is there another possible explanation for why she thinks she needs to eat so much?
 

yosemite

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It might also be the quality of the food you are giving her. When the food is full of grains and fillers, they need to eat more for proper nutrition and end up gaining weight from all the junk in the food.
 

emmylou

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Eleven pounds isn't that large for a cat, particularly if it has a medium or large frame. It's average. Did a vet tell you the cat was overweight? It might just be "spay sway," the saggy belly some female cats develop after spaying (but which doesn't mean they're overweight).

My guess is that the cat is hungry because she's not getting enough to eat.

Also, I agree that increasing the quality of the food will help. That way the cat will get more nutrition and feel more full.
 

happilyretired

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It's also possible that your cat is not really hungry. I adopted a 5-year-old male about 4 months ago, and have had difficulty getting him on a feeding schedule because of his behavior.

Whenever I went into the kitchen, he not only followed me in but began to go nuts for food. He would carry on as though he was starving to death. And so I would feed him. After a while, I noticed that although he might take a nibble or two, he often ignored the food. So now if it's not time for his food (he eats mainly wet but always has dry available), I simply ignore him. I've noticed that he does his "act" for a while and then will just relax.

He was adopted from a shelter and had been rounded up as a stray, so I don't know anything about his earlier life, but somehow he'd developed this habit of demanding food all the time. Since I've stopped feeding him except at his meal times, he's begun to quiet down just a little--although he still joins me whenever I go into the kitchen.

Is it possible that your Bailey has developed a similar habit and is not actually very hungry? I'd feed her only the quantity recommended and ignore her begging for food and see what happens.
 

yosemite

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Originally Posted by HappilyRetired

It's also possible that your cat is not really hungry. I adopted a 5-year-old male about 4 months ago, and have had difficulty getting him on a feeding schedule because of his behavior.

Whenever I went into the kitchen, he not only followed me in but began to go nuts for food. He would carry on as though he was starving to death. And so I would feed him. After a while, I noticed that although he might take a nibble or two, he often ignored the food. So now if it's not time for his food (he eats mainly wet but always has dry available), I simply ignore him. I've noticed that he does his "act" for a while and then will just relax.

He was adopted from a shelter and had been rounded up as a stray, so I don't know anything about his earlier life, but somehow he'd developed this habit of demanding food all the time. Since I've stopped feeding him except at his meal times, he's begun to quiet down just a little--although he still joins me whenever I go into the kitchen.

Is it possible that your Bailey has developed a similar habit and is not actually very hungry? I'd feed her only the quantity recommended and ignore her begging for food and see what happens.
Again, it may be a matter of the quality of food. Lower quality foods require a cat to eat more in order to get the nutrition they need. So if the quality if poor, the cat may very well still be hungry.
 
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karmaghost

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Well, I have considered her food as a possibility. I know that, at 11 lbs., she's not super overweight, but muscle tends to weight more than fat and Bailey is certainly not lean. She has some trouble cleaning and reaching the area around her bum lately to the point where she kinda gives up. She's not filthy or anything, but it's something we've noticed.

I've also considered that it's a behavioral problem and that she's not necessarily hungry in a "I must eat" kind of way.

I'll give all these suggestions a try. Plus, she's on her way to the vet in a couple weeks for a check up, so I'll bring it up to the vet next time.
 

ronnycage

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when i goto the kitchen the cars want food... wanna i goto the bathroom the cats go to their box. could just be mimicking your behavior!?
 

persi & alley

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Originally Posted by KarmaGhost

Hey everyone, it's been a while since I posted about my kitten Bailey. After a frustrating few early months, she's finally settled down and we're really enjoying her company.

Bailey is now about 20 months old and she's doing well. But what has me curious is her behavior and appearance. She's an indoor cat and currently weighs about 11 pounds, maybe 12. At this weight she appears to be a little "obese," which is something we notice and something everybody that comes to visit seems to comment on. When we enter the kitchen, unless she has just been fed (and sometimes even regardless of this fact) she will cry and beg for food. If she's really hungry, she engages in attention seeking behavior like running around, scratching furniture, and frustrated meowing.

I'm feeding her a little more than the vet recommended, but much less than the packaging on her food recommends. Other than, say, worms, is there another possible explanation for why she thinks she needs to eat so much?
I saw your note yesterday but did not respond. Today I feel compelled to do so. I weighed Persi this morning and he is at 11 pounds. Two weeks ago he was at 12 pounds. (He varies between 11 and 12 pounds.) The thing is, I have been feeding him from the table the last two weeks a wide assortment of pizza, ice cream, hamburgers, and such. I felt full of guilt until I put him on the baby scales this morning.
 

whiteforest

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Originally Posted by Yosemite

It might also be the quality of the food you are giving her. When the food is full of grains and fillers, they need to eat more for proper nutrition and end up gaining weight from all the junk in the food.
I will second this. What are you feeding her?


Originally Posted by KarmaGhost

I'll give all these suggestions a try. Plus, she's on her way to the vet in a couple weeks for a check up, so I'll bring it up to the vet next time.
Please also note that the greater majority of vets will push foods like Science Diet and Iams, which are also full of grains and corn.


I know that any time I've tried to feed my kitties food with grains, I would feed roughly the same amount and they acted like I was starving them.
 
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